Industry News

UK Property News 5th October 2011

Westfield has gone under offer to lease over half of its first major UK office development, One Stratford Place, a 130,000 sq ft building at its Stratford City shopping centre in east London. Details of the lettings to undisclosed parties emerged yesterday as the Australian shopping centre giant officially launched the scheme at an industry event hosted by two-time Olympic gold medallist Daley Thompson. Westfield said the scheme, the first phase of more than 1m sq ft offices proposed by the developer at the site, had been completed and was ready for occupation for requirements of 10,000 sq ft to 60,000 sq ft. The 10-storey One Stratford Place is the first phase of offices to be delivered at Westfield Stratford City. Post-games, Westfield plans to deliver a further 1m sq ft of office space in three further phases and, advised by CB Richard Ellis and Cushman & Wakefield, is already talking to major occupiers about prelet opportunities. The building is located at the end of the pedestrian footbridge which leads into the Olympic Park and commands views across the entire Olympic site, the City of London and Canary Wharf. Westfield said it benefited from being the only Grade A specification office accommodation within the Olympic zone that will be suitable for occupation in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. John Burton, director of Westfield Stratford City, said: “Within just two weeks of opening Westfield Stratford City, it is firmly established as a thriving destination with over a million visitors in the first week. "The launch of this building signals Stratford’s coming of age not just as a retail destination, but also as London’s newest office location. We are hugely encouraged by the strong levels of interest shown in this space already.” The building includes 21,000 sq ft floor plates. One Stratford Place was recently announced as the home of the British Olympic Association (BOA) during the 2012 Olympics. Team GB will take occupation of 21,000 sq ft on the eighth floor of the building from January 2012. Following the conclusion of the Olympic Games the space will be handed over to the British Paralympic Association to support Paralympics GB. Westfield said that in total more than 50% of the offices was under offer but refused to discuss tenant names. In an entertaining speech at the launch, Daley Thompson, the Olympic decathlete and four times world record holder, said the Olympic Stadium should remain in use as an athletics stadium as well as a home for West Ham United post Games. Thompson said: “It would be a shame to have all of those great memories from 2012 and not be able to repeat that at the stadium afterwards.”